Rogue
(Courtesy of Mallory Wheeler)
Yesterday, I went to interview a young woman named Mallory Wheeler for my upcoming book on Hurricane Ian, a courageous young lady who lost one of her “children” in Hurricane Ian. This young child was one of her most valued pets, a thoroughbred gelding horse named Rogue. Rogue was her baby and Mallory is torn up about her loss. Rogue was chestnut in color, had a white blaze and two white socks on his back legs.
Rogue
(Courtesy of Mallory Wheeler)
Rogue was reported missing on September 29, 2022, the day after Hurricane Ian swept over southwest Florida. After over 9 feet of surge water filled the barn and pasture where he grazed, Rogue disappeared and could not be found. He pastured on a property near Park Road on Highway 41 near San Carlos Park. Mallory lived two miles away and would check on Rogue every day.
Mallory stated in a TikTok video “I’m doing everything I can to find my sweet boy. Literally everything.” She used everything to search for Rogue, airboats, planes, drones, people on horseback, on foot, and search and rescue dogs. Wheeler wrote in despair “I know he’s out there. I just need everyone to be on the lookout and spread the word! He’s the sweetest boy and doesn’t deserve this. He is tagged with a pink heart tag braided into his mane.” Mallory said that Rogue knew his name and he sometimes answered when called with a winnie.
At 10am on September 28, 2022, Mallory Wheeler called to check on Rogue, right before the storm started to get worse. She was told at this point that Rogue was happily grazing in his pasture with two bonded donkey pasture mates, Paul and Cinnamon, whom Rogue knew well and loved to play with. In the days that followed people got together from as far away as the UK and voiced their support. Wheeler even posted a $2500 reward. During the search, people found Rogue’s two pasture mates, the bonded donkeys, still alive. They had survived in a corner area of the pasture throughout the storm. All around them were massive piles of debris from the storm.
The search came to an end on October 13 when Mallory was called on her cellphone while driving and was told to come to the pasture. She soon wrote a Facebook post that said “Rogue was found today. He’s not okay. He has passed. He’s on the left side of his barn on the other side of the pasture fence. The donkeys have been hanging in that corner every day. Turns out they were hanging with their buddy, Rogue. I should’ve listened to them. It seems as though Rogue has been deceased since the storm.” The post ended with “I love you, Roguesly.”
Aerial view of the pasture where Rogue grazed. The barn is where the green dot is. The yellow dot is where Rogue was found. Paul and Cinnamon, the two donkeys, were found alive grazing in the corner just on the other side of the fence where Rogue was found.
(Courtesy of Mallory Wheeler)
Because Rogue was such a massive animal at 1200 pounds, Mallory and fellow rescuers decided to bury Rogue where they found him. Mallory’s idea at first was to have him cremated. Rescuers had to clear the debris and cut part of the fence down to get to Rogue with a tractor bed to remove him temporarily and dig a grave big enough to bury him. They placed a marker nearby in the corner area of the pasture where Rogue, Paul, and Cinnamon liked to graze. If you were to go there today, you would find the donkeys there.
On October 17, Mallory visited Rogue’s grave with the two donkeys. She gave them hay and fresh water because the storm surge inundated their freshwater pond with salt water. Rogue’s grave has a cross with his name spelled out in five mailbox style letters and his death date stenciled in red above his name. Flowers adorned the ground in front but soon after Paul and Cinnamon ate the flowers.
A lady from Ocala, Florida, Barbara Whatley-Render, was so moved by Rogue’s story that she decided to put together an online fundraising site to help find Rogue and also to support South West Florida Horse Rescue, Inc. Here is a link to the site. *OperationRogue - Fundraiser by Barbara Whatley-Render on *spotfund Barbara mentions on the site that a painting is now completed, which will be a tribute to Rogue’s memory. He is known as “the horse that brought the world together in prayer.”
Thanks for learning!
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